This reply can be a little bit of a cross between Scott Sigler and the recent debut of StrangerThings video podcast, because as most people here are probably aware they opened with Scott Sigler's short story Sacred Cow.
I am kind of a Johnny come late for dinner when it comes to listening to podcasters and specifically the writer podcasts specifically which has a great deal of family interplay, if incest wasn't illegal that is... but I picked up on PP October last year with "what are dead people supposed to do" and then EP soon after, and from there JC Hutchins and then Scott Sigler, I haven't been too disappointed by anything. Scott is the shock jock radio DJ who has so much ego it spills over into plain humour, hearing him ranting and raving is admittedly to me something to laugh at... but he knows its funny and so it works. But when it comes to his writings for me at least they do hook into you and keep you coming back... some weeks are 'weak' podcast wise, but as a whole the stories he writes do work and are good, even better than the usual fare the pulpy paperback action crowd is used to. Its not literature, but it definitely is entertaining, you do want to finish his stories. I too fall into the 'Sports?!?!? Why Would I listen to a SPORTS Story?!?!?' but I listen to The Rookie with rapt fascination.
Recently (earlier today for me actually) Strangerthings.tv debut with Sacred Cow by Scott, and I have posted comments, emailed people and the sort giving thanks to everyone involved where I could. Why? Because the debut blew me away. I listened to Sacred Cow via a link someone posted from the earlier posting of the 'Blodocast' he had of it, and it was pretty good, I saw the preview and I was impressed with the quality... watched the episode today and I have to say it floored me. Podcasting and now Videocasting is still regarded amongst the larger populace (if they pay attention at all) as still pretty hobby oriented, and thus one can be a little forgiving when it comes to a podcast that sounds like someone using a $0.99 mic and ambient noises from the surrounding recording interfering with the content your listening to. But there are those who bring up the bar quite a bit and it makes for a pretty good listen... but its not immediately noticable how good it is so much, only as compared to how BAD it could be. Steve mentioned in one of the early episodes that the better the audio gets the less people really comment on it. Good quality audio you don't notice, infact thats the beauty of it, if you don't notice the audio quality you've done your job well.
This cannot be said for the visual... good quality visuals fight to be noticed, and bad visuals are also glaringly obvious. So Earl and the Stranger Things group made something I expected to be seeing on TV, and given that I was somewhat expecting perhaps the hobby enthusiast quality of other video podcasts it was like I owned a television again all of the sudden. It was like the people behind a well funded TV show made a video podcast... and yet I knew that no... there was a lot of talent there, and a great deal of it was volunteer and maybe made on a budget that wished they could afford the shoestring others claim to have as their budget. But still it felt like honestly I was watching something wholly different... and then to have the story one by Scott Sigler, which was an interesting premise originally, be made into something that actually one-ups it and makes it even more interesting and accessible to people without really changing it impressed me. No it knocked me over, HARD. So Im telling people about it, heck if it was okay by strangerthings I would burn it on to DVDs and make sure lots of people got a copy... including a number of the libraries in the city I live in. But strangerthings doesn't have the same CC license that PP & EP does which I understand, and I will respect... so instead I will point people to the site, and they can get to watch it that way...
Its always a good thing when there is a new venue for speculative fiction to find its stage, be it in print, audio, or video... not everything will work for video, just as not everything works for audio, but its a good thing that such a stage is there... and I hope there might be more people doing such good work, I dunno if it will be as good as StrangerThings, heck I worry that the debut was too good, a quality they might not be able to achieve again... but even if its a little less quality wise, but done with enthusiasm and passion for the material, it might be a good thing... Strangerthings with a Scott Sigler story has shown it can be done, and done well... and I am supporting that... and I hope many others do too...
Jaye Sunsurn
The Mind Fantastic
Vancouver BC